The Aching Arches

It hasn't been easy at the helm of McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) over the past few weeks. After a remarkable corporate turnaround, Jim Cantalupo passed away last month after suffering a heart attack. Yesterday, new CEO Charlie Bell underwent successful colorectal cancer surgery.

While one may question how guarded the company may have been about Bell's health when he assumed his former mentor's leadership position two weeks ago -- this is, after all, something that shareholders are entitled to know -- it won't have much of a bearing when it comes to operations at the world's largest restaurant chain.

Cantalupo left Mickey D's in smooth auto-pilot mode. While his 16-month tenure may have been brief, and he certainly wasn't the only person responsible for upgrading the once-tired fast-food giant's image, menu, and pricing flexibility, it would be hard to mess up the company in the near term.

The whole quick-service sector is humming along. Burger King, which had been the one laggard in the bunch, finally came around yesterday when it reported positive comps for the month of April -- after 20 consecutive downers.

McDonald's is now cut more in the Wendy's (NYSE: WEN) mold with premium chicken breast salads and heartier chicken nuggets.

The company expects Bell's recuperation to be brief. In the meantime, the company has every reason to ride the wave produced by its most recent quarterly report in which the company saw its profits surge by 38% as same-unit sales soared by 9.4%.

So, sure, go ahead and take the company to task for springing Bell's health concerns on its investors at an inopportune moment. But as far as the company's financials go, you've got to be "lovin' it."

Will the company skip a beat as Bell recovers from cancer surgery? Is the company's turnaround complete, or can it still come unhinged? All this and more -- in the McDonald's discussion board. Only on Fool.com.

Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz was pleasantly surprised to find healthy apple slices at his local McDonald's over the weekend. Caramel dipping sauce? Nice touch! He does not own shares in any of the companies mentioned in this story.